Fairway Shots

I hope you enjoyed the tips on driving the ball.

Next we are going to look at fairway shots

Part 1: Driving The Ball
Part 2: Fairway Shots
Part 3: Chipping
Part 4: Putting

=======================================

Part 2: Fairway Shots

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Once you're off the tee, unless you've hit a hole in one, you'll probably be faced with a second shot, hopefully from the fairway. The lie of the ball in a fairway shot will determine how you swing at your next shot.

In friendly games, you might be allowed to put the ball up on grass. This will imitate, in a way, a tee shot. In a serious or tournament game, you'll have to play the ball where it lies, so it’s a good idea to know how to hit a proper fairway shot.

Many beginner golfers are apprehensive about the fairway shot. They will often baby their swing and not hit the ball completely. This is a big mistake. Golf clubs are made to work with a full swing, so pick a club that matches your distance from the hole and then take a complete swing. Don’t be timid thinking that you will overshoot the hole. If you’ve picked the correct club, you will get to the green majority of the time.

Aim your left shoulder, or the right one if you're a leftie, at your target which is of course the flag. Your hands should be in front of the ball at contact. Keep the same swing motion as if you are driving the ball. To aid in squaring your clubface, try to touch your left forearm with your right forearm at contact.

If you're in deep grass, the goal is to get the ball up in the air. That means you'll want a club that has a lot of lift (loft). That usually means an 8 or 9 iron.  However, keep in mind that you will most likely not get a lot of distance with these smaller clubs. 

When you swing, make certain to follow through after contact. The laws of physics state that when you hit the ball, it will be carried through and into the air as your arms bring the golf club back up.

Your approach to deep grass shots should be toward minimizing the intervention of the grass. Meaning, you want to strike the ball as clean as possible. For example, on a 5-iron shot from the fairway you position the ball off your left heel. For a shot from the rough, move it back to a spot an inch to the right of your heel.

With this ball position, it should leave your hands slightly ahead of the clubface. From that setup you'll have a tendency to swing the club up a bit more vertically on the backswing and bring it back a bit more steeply to the ball. With this steeper attack the clubface will come down on the ball more rather than brush through the grass.

For really deep grass, the idea again is to decrease the intervention of the grass and how it will alter your shot. Once again, play the ball back in your stance, but this time, play it 2 inches back instead of 1, because you are going to have to go downward after the ball.

In part 3, we'll cover chipping.

For more information and products on golfing, please refer to our website.